


An Adorable Hunk

by widowshulk



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bubble Bath, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 23:04:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5473820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/widowshulk/pseuds/widowshulk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha comes home after a day of Christmas shopping and she's freezing, so Bruce suggests that they take a bath together to warm up. Later, they exchange gifts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Adorable Hunk

The door slams and Bruce’s heart skips a beat. They really need to get a new door; the loud slamming is going to give him a heart attack one of these days. He shuts his laptop and welcomes the break from his research. 

“Fucking hell, it’s cold out there,” Natasha says, walking into the living room and dropping layers of clothing and bags of shopping everywhere. 

“It’s warm over here,” Bruce says, standing and opening his arms for her.

Natasha’s there in a second. He wraps himself around her, pulling her in close, and she is home. She nuzzles her face into his neck and it doesn’t take long for her to find the little crook that’s just the right height for her. She takes a deep breath, breathing him in. There’s the faint scent of something chemical, he’s clearly been to the lab today and pear drops. She can already feel Bruce’s body head slowly working its magic on her. One of the (very few) perks of the gamma is that Bruce is always incredibly warm, which is perfect for moments like this.

“Can we sit?” Natasha asks quietly after a few moments have passed.

“Of course.”

Bruce turns and practically falls onto the couch and Natasha follows suit immediately afterwards.

“Did you get everything you wanted?” Bruce asks as he wraps himself around her again.

“Almost. Stark is the worst to buy gifts for, he already has everything,” Natasha replies, sliding her hands under his shirt.

Bruce sharply inhales; the cold icicles that are supposed to be her fingers are a shock to his system.

“That was mean,” Bruce says, gently pinching her side.

Natasha laughs and slides her hands to his back to get comfy. Bruce rests his head on top of hers and squeezes her. In moments like this, this peaceful moments, that he’s reminded of how much he adores this woman and how he gets to hold her like this whenever she wants. 

“So what did you get me?” Bruce teases.

“You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”

“You didn’t pick the best hiding place, though,” Bruce says, nodding to the pile of bags. 

Natasha looks at him and raises a singular eyebrow, daring him to go to the bags. Bruce lifts his hands from her body in mock defeat. 

“That’s what I thought,” she says with a laugh. 

Bruce lowers his hands back to her and can’t believe how cold she still is. Normally, a few minutes in his arms and she’s warm and toasty.   
“You know what you need?” Bruce suggests. “A nice, hot bath.”

“Mm, I’m good here.”

“What if I offered to join you in there?”

“Well, what are we waiting for?”

Natasha leaps up from the couch and lowers a hand to him. 

\--

Bruce starts running the water, while Natasha rummages to find the right bubble bath.

“You know, this bath is pretty small for two people,” Natasha points out as she pours the bubble bath in.

“I can leave you to it?”

“After you got my hopes up? You better not.”

Natasha grins at him as she strips her clothes off.

It doesn’t matter how many times he sees her like this, he still always finds himself wondering how he got so lucky. He takes in the curves, the muscles, the scars; he takes everything in and he can’t believe that this incredible and strong woman loves him. 

“Need a hand getting those clothes off?” Natasha asks with a grin. 

“I was enjoying the view,” Bruce says, his face flushing.

Bruce rips his clothes off as fast as he can, much less elegantly than Natasha, of course.

“Now I can enjoy the view as well,” Natasha comments, running her eyes up and down his naked body.

“I think mine’s better.”

Natasha raises an eyebrow at him and nods to the bath. “Getting in?”

“Right, yeah.”

Bruce tests the water with his hand and he’s satisfied.

“How are we doing this? There are faucets at this end… we can’t take an end each… I don’t know…”

“Stop worrying. Get in, doc, and we’ll figure it out.”

Bruce hesitantly steps into the water and sits at one end of the bathtub. 

“Now what?” he asks Natasha.

“Just wait. Spread your legs.”

Bruce stifles a giggle, but does as he’s told.

Natasha steps into the bath, her back to Bruce, and crouches in front of him, before sliding down. She sits with her back pressed against his front and leans back into him.

“How’s that?” she asks.

“A little uncomfortable. Slide forward a little?”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” she says, sliding her bum forward.

“Much better.”

Bruce hugs Natasha close to him and wraps his arms around her.

“You’re finally warming up.”

“It’s cosy in here,” Natasha says, putting her arms on his. 

Bruce leans his head down and kisses Natasha’s shoulder.

“I adore you,” he whispers onto her skin. 

She grins, not knowing whether or not he’d intended for her to hear him.

“You know what we need in here? A tree,” she says, looking around the bathroom.

“So you want one in every room of the house?” Bruce teases.

“Yes. I’ve got to make up for all the Christmases I lost in the Red Room.”

Bruce sighs lightly and squeezes her.

“You can have whatever you want. We can get another tree tomorrow.”

“Thanks, doc.”

They talk about the holidays and their upcoming events, trying to organise a little time for themselves amongst all the madness that is about to befall them. They somehow managed to weasel their way of hosting anything, though, so that was something to be grateful for. Clint and Laura had been sending panicked texts for a month now, worrying about accommodating the Avengers, especially Thor with his never-ending appetite. Bruce and Natasha tried their best to reassure the Bartons, but were incredibly relieved it wasn’t them in that position. 

“The water’s getting cold, we should probably get out,” Bruce suggests a little while later.

“But I’m so comfortable,” Natasha protests. 

Bruce nudges her gently and she sighs.

“Fine, you’re right.”

“Isn’t that a nice change?” Bruce teases. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Natasha says with mock surprise as she steps out of the bath.

The two of them head into the bedroom when Natasha turns and puts her hand on Bruce’s chest; his brow furrows, asking her what’s going on without needing to say the words.

“Wait here, I got you something today.”

“Can I at least put some underwear on?” Bruce asks as Natasha leaves the room.

She returns to the bedroom with two red sweaters draped over her arm. She hands one to Bruce, watching him carefully to study his reaction. 

He unfolds the sweater to find the front dominated by a Christmas tree covered in pom-poms and stars and light bulbs. His face contorts into bewilderment and he looks up at Natasha who is now modelling an identical one, except that hers is flashing at him.

“Try it on, come on.”

Bruce rolls his eyes and pulls it on, finding himself pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it is. Natasha walks to him, sliding her hand up his right side and then suddenly, his sweater is flashing too.

“Isn’t it great?” Natasha asks, a childish grin across her face.

“I love it,” Bruce replies, his grin mirroring his own. 

It doesn’t matter that this is something Bruce would never wear in a million years because Natasha’s unbridled excitement makes it completely worthwhile. 

“Bruce, you look adorable.”

“That’s what every man wants to hear from his wife, ‘adorable’,” Bruce replies with a scowl.

“An adorable hunk?” Natasha suggests.

“Better.”

Natasha starts to get dressed, but she keeps the sweater on and Bruce takes that a sign that he should keep his on too. 

“So, what do you want to do today?” Natasha asks once they’re fully dressed.

“I had something in mind,” Bruce replies.

“Oh yeah?” Natasha asks.

“It’s a surprise.”

“I hope it’s a good one, for your sake.”

“It is,” he replies with a grin. “Get your coat and gloves, we’re going for a drive.”

Natasha frowns at him, but follows his lead, grabbing her warmest coat and her thickest gloves.

Bruce drives for about 45 minutes before Natasha has their destination figured out, the new Avengers facility. She can’t help but feel a little saddened by the fact that he’s bringing her to her workplace when she’s taking a break for the holidays.

He notices her body shift and he recognises it, disappointment. She’s worked out where they’re going, but she still doesn’t know why. In a way, the disappointment means she’ll be even more surprised when she sees what he has in store for her. 

When Bruce pulls up to the facility, he doesn’t go to the parking garage and Natasha looks at him with her brows furrowed. 

“Could you close your eyes, please?” he asks.

“All right,” she agrees reluctantly.

Moments later, her door opens and Bruce takes her hand to help her out. Once she’s standing, he wraps an arm around her waist and guides her along some grass. They’re walking for less than a minute when he stops them and tells her she can open her eyes. 

It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light and she blinks a few times to process what she’s seeing. They’re standing behind the Avengers facility, where there should be open land, but instead there’s an ice rink the size of a football pitch. Natasha’s mouth gapes open as her mind races, contemplating how on earth she hadn’t noticed this being built.

“This way, no tourists to get in the way,” Bruce says, trying to make sense of her dumbfounded expression.

“How did you-?” Natasha starts.

“Tony loves Christmas almost as much as you. He’d been wondering what extravagant thing to do for his party, and I suggested this, but only if you got the first go. There are skates in the trunk.”

Natasha throws her arms around his neck and plants a wet kiss on his mouth.

“This is perfect, I love it. Thank you, Bruce.”

Bruce grins at her as she runs to the car to retrieve her ice skates.

She’s back by his side in a minute, with her skates already on and another pair in her hand for him. 

“I’ll watch for a bit first,” Bruce says.

Natasha’s face falls, but she quickly covers her disappointment. He put the extra skates in there, so he obviously intends to skate, but for whatever reason he’s taking his time. 

It’s been a while since Natasha’s been on the ice, but it only takes her a second to adjust before it starts to feel natural. She does a few laps around the rink to warm up before she starts with some twirls. Slowly, her movements become more and more advanced until she’s leaping and twirling all over the ice. After a while, she feels herself overheating, so she skates over to Bruce and drops her coat on the ground.

“Feel like joining me?” she asks.

“Actually, I do.”

Bruce already has his skates on, so he’s at her side in seconds.

“I’m not very good at this,” Bruce confesses.

“Hold on to me, I’ll keep you safe,” Natasha says, holding out her hand to him.

He grabs it and holds on tight as they slowly make their way around the ice. Natasha stops and adjusts his posture every now and again, giving him little tips, and it’s not long before he’s skating off on his own. They’re out there for almost an hour when it starts to snow and Natasha is delighted. Bruce frowns at the sky, assuming they should probably call it a day, but Natasha’s face bursts into a smile that could melt all the ice beneath their feet. 

He skates towards her, gravitating towards her, and he wraps his arms around her waist. Her hands instinctively reach up around his neck, her hands in his hair. He presses his mouth to hers and she pulls him all the more closer to him. His face is so cold pressed against hers and the snow is starting to fall even more heavily on them now, but she barely even notices. All she pays attention to are his lips and his tongue; they are the only things that matter. Then, as the snow starts to melt on their faces, they melt into one another.

When their lips finally part, they’re both grinning.

“I adore you, my beloved Mrs Banner,” Bruce says, kissing the tip of her nose which has turned bright red from the cold.

“I adore you, my beloved Mr Romanoff,” Natasha replies.

Bruce kisses her again, lightly this time and rests his forehead on hers. When he pulls back, Bruce looks into her eyes and is overwhelmed by how magical this moment is. He, the half monster, has managed to find true peace in this moment, and if that isn’t a Christmas miracle, Bruce doesn’t know what is.


End file.
